Yorkshire Young Achievers: Singing the praises of all our young heroes

THE FINEST young people of Leeds were honoured at the 2015 Yorkshire Young Achievers Awards.

They included Lizzie Armitstead, whose parents picked up her sporting award from former Leeds United star Peter Lorimer.

Mary Benson, winner of the Achievement in Management and Enterprise award.

Others honoured included a University of Leeds student who helped cancer sufferers. Hannah Wilks, 21, was recognised as the region’s young “unsung hero” at the event.

Hannah, studying zoology in Leeds, helped raise funds for research into ovarian cancer after her mother was diagnosed with the disease. She took a voluntary placement last year with Marie Curie’s West Yorkshire Community Fundraising Team.

Despite working full-time, five days a week, she regularly came in early and left late and gave up many weekends to support fundraising activities, including collecting during the charity’s Great Daffodil Appeal and helping out at events.

Special Award winner Jono Lancaster.

She was one of the eight remarkable people aged under 35 whose achievements were highlighted at the YEP-backed ceremony at Leeds United’s Centenary Pavilion in front of hundreds of guests. The 23rd awards were organised by the Yorkshire Young Achievers Foundation, established to support young people in Yorkshire. Chairman Peter McCormick said: “Hannah was a particularly deserving winner because she went the extra mile to help cancer sufferers across Yorkshire.”

Other winners included Daisy Campbell, of Methley, in the Achievement in the Arts category, sponsored by the YEP. The 12-year-old plays Amelia Spencer in Emmerdale.

Mary Benson, 24, of Seacroft, a fashion designer who made a debut at London Fashion Week last year, won the Achievement in Management and Enterprise award. Jono Lancaster, 31, of Normanton, a sufferer of the rare congenital disorder Treacher Collins Syndrome, was given the Special Award.